This is the fifth installment in my short series related to the Flowers Macro Contest Mike Moats is running. No, I am not affiliated with Mr. Moats, and don’t even know the man.

I am, however, trying to motivate people into entering the contest. As a reminder, you have until May 5th to send in your entry. The requirement for the entries is they be no larger than 600 pixels on the largest side. If you do not happen to have Lightroom, Aperture, or Photoshop, I can recommend a program I sometime use to resize photos. The program is called FastStone Photo Resizer, and it is FREE for personal use.

So far I’ve covered Easter Lilies, Salsify flowers, Roses, and garden flowers. This post continues with a garden flower I thought merits its own post. Monarda, also known as Bee Balm.

The plant is a favorite of hummingbirds, and I have a number of shots of hummingbirds on it (HERE are some), and many shots of just the flower (you can search for ‘bee balm’ on the side bar).

It’s also a favorite of mine because of the stages it goes through . . .

Keep in mind all these photos are of the same type of plant.

The above is just before it begins to bloom, while below shows the next stage . . .

And then it explodes . . .

Here’s a different treatment . . .

This is what it ends up looking like.

There is another kind of Bee Balm which I like a little better . . .

Those remind me of little aliens trying to get at you. It may begin a little different, but it ends up nearly with the same look.

And that’s Bee Balm.

I have a few more posts about flower macros . . .

. . . and if you’ve not begun gathering your favorite flower macros, you should do so; don’t wait until the last minute.

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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3 Responses to Mike Moats Flower Macros Contest – Part 5

The sixth from the top are the most striking to my eye. We had Bee Balm in our garden years ago and we were always delighted with them. I plan to cultivate a small flower garden and I’ll be sure to include it.

The bee balm last year, along with the cone flowers and a few other plants, were hurt by a late frost, and did not come up as well as we hoped. The ones in the back of the house did not come up at all.

This spring looks to be a bit better, but as we get snow storm until mid-May (and even later) I’m still cautious in expressing optimism.